My first Participatory Drawing project was held at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont in February 2016. It started on a Sunday as an open workshop for the general public to participate in, and was concluded during a second workshop with a group of 22 middle school students from a nearby public school.
The drawings base on a few very simple guidelines, such as a circular pen gesture and an agreement to avoid representational drawing, but to focus on texture and patterns instead. While this ensures coherence for the overall drawing, the individual hand adds to the diversity of patterns and therefore to the liveliness and success of the drawing.
Large sheets of paper are attached to a wall or to the ground. We work with fine tip artist pens filled with black Indian ink.
The drawing process is meant to be relaxing and meditative. The drawings can be performed in silence, or with music.
